Vietnamese VinFast car designs protected in EU

NDO - Two models of sedan and SUV developed by Vietnamese automaker, VinFast, will be protected in the 28 member countries of the European Union (EU).

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has granted a registration certificate of design for VinFast's models of sedan and SUV cars with a five-year term of protection which can be renewed four times.

During the maximum protection period of up to 25 years, other automakers will not be able to produce or distribute models with identical or similar designs to the VinFast models in the EU market.

Beyond Europe, the Vietnamese automaker has also filed applications for industrial design protection for its two models in a number of countries including the US, Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia, among others.

VinFast signed contracts with Italy's design firm Pininfarina and BMW in early 2018 to produce sedan and SUV cars with the aim of launching their first products by the end of 2019.

The two Vietnamese brand models are scheduled to feature in the Paris Moto Show in France in October 2018 before they are officially launched in Vietnam.